Improved Insulin Pump System

A new insulin pump system—called the MiniMed Paradigm Real-Time System—makes it easier to keep track of your blood sugar highs and lows. “The Real-Time System helps you learn when it’s best to take a finger-stick reading so you can adjust for highs and lows much faster,” says diabetes educator Ellen Cooper, R.N., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “Finger sticks, your glucose monitor and Real-Time all work together.”

Here’s how it works: Real-Time combines a special insulin pump with a glucose sensor that’s inserted just under the skin. “Until now, the only way to check sugar levels was through regular finger sticks,” says Cooper. “Those results are a number from one point in time, like a snapshot. This system gives you continuous readings so you can take action right away if your sugar is going too high or low.”

Like a pump, you inject the Real-Time sensor through a soft probe into the abdomen, in the same areas where the infusion gets inserted. “The sensor checks your glucose levels every 20 seconds, then transmits the average reading to the pump every 5 minutes,” says Cooper’s colleague, endocrinologist Larry Merkle, M.D.

“The real-time information can help you avoid blood sugar ‘excursions,’ the highs and lows we now think can contribute to diabetes-related complications, such as blindness, kidney failure and heart disease,” Cooper says. “You’ll be able to see right away what happens when you eat different foods, so you can adjust your diet accordingly. All you need to do is look at the screen on your pump.”

Another advantage: “The pump records trends that over time you can share with your doctor,” says Merkle. “This allows us to get a more accurate picture of what’s happening and more information helps when prescribing and dosing insulin.”

Still, the Real-Time can’t do everything. For example, it can’t inject insulin based on its glucose readings. Short of a working pancreas, nothing can do that--at least not yet. The system also doesn’t replace regular HA1C checks or finger sticks. But it does provide valuable information to keep you healthy and fend off dangerous complications.

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